Jeff Somers at KGB
If you’re in New York City this evening, stop by K.G.B. bar to see the always entertaining (and frequently blurry) Jeff Somers reading at the Fantastic Fiction series. Complete details here — see you there!
Archive for Orbit US
Orbit Links for August 15 2008
Welcome to our latest weekly round-up post of links to Orbit authors’ activities elsewhere on the WWW:
- Over at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist right now, you have a chance to win a 13-book Orbit prize pack.
- Michael Cobley has posted an extract from his soon-to-be-published short story ‘Weapon of Choice‘.
- Bookbag reviewer Natalie Baker has good things to say about Jennifer Fallon‘s Wolfblade.
- Charlie Huston‘s ‘Book of All Future Names’ project continues with Munez Lautner and Petty Affair and Castigleone.
- Fantasybookspot.com reviewer Trinuviel has been busy lately with reviews of Orbit titles by Jo Graham (Black Ships)and Glenda Larke (The Heart of the Mirage).
- Robert Jordan‘s The Wheel of Time series has been optioned by Universal Pictures.
- Speculative Horizons recommends the Sword of Shadows series by J.V. Jones.
- Jay Tomio is running a sweepstake to win a signed copy of Ken MacLeod‘s brand new novel, The Night Sessions.
- Lilith Saintcrow explains how to write convincing combat scenes.
- Jennifer Rardin discusses the possibilities for Jaz Parks, the Movie with the folks at mybookthemovie.blogspot.com.
- Charles Stross tells IO9.com why he thinks UK SciFi is more hopeful than US SciFi.
As always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)
In Their Own Words: Jennifer Rardin on BITTEN TO DEATH
Jennifer says:
Bitten to Death is a love story. Sometimes it’s twisted. And a little sick. And there are parts you shouldn’t read while eating. But it faces the fact that sometimes people fall so hard they want to fold the objects of their affections into origami swans and lock them in cedar boxes forever. (No, that doesn’t literally occur in BTD, but you’ll get what I mean by the end.)
Of course my books are also all about the assassination. When you’ve based your operations in a Vampere community, however, you’ve created a dilemma. Namely, which ubercreep should you smoke first? The serial killer who greets you at the door? The snappy dresser who calls for your head before he even gets your name? The ally who may be just as evil as your target? Or Edward ‘The Raptor’ Samos, the guy you’ve been chasing forever? Decisions, decisions…
In Their Own Words: Philip Palmer on DEBATABLE SPACE
Philip says:
Space pirates, exotic aliens, battles in outer space, exploding stars, and characters we care about and love or hate (or both) and secretly or not so secretly want to be.
Those were the elements I wanted to include in Debatable Space. I think of it as a rocket fired through the reader’s imagination.
The several narrators of Debatable Space – the pirate crew who steal and pillage and murder and endeavour to save the universe – are like a family to me. Which means, sometimes annoying! But always my family.
And Lena is my favourite of all the characters I’ve ever created. She has many flaws, and one redeeming feature; she is vividly alive.
Debatable Space is Philip Palmer‘s gloriously mind-mashing debut space opera and is out now in paperback from Orbit UK and large paperback from Orbit US (the regular paperback will be published in the US on September 1st). Click here to read an extract.
You can catch up with the latest news from Philip Palmer at www.philippalmer.net, where he regularly blogs about his writing (screenplays and radio-plays as well as prose), the movies he’s seen, the books he’s read… all sorts of good stuff.
Orbit Links for August 08 2008
It’s the eighth day of the eighth month of the eight year of the century and the Olympic Games are kicking off (if that’s even vaguely the right term) in Beijing. But you guys don’t care about all that running and jumping and swimming and stuff, do you? No! What you really want is your weekly dose of Orbit Author links:
- Graeme Flory has good things to say about Patricia Briggs‘ third Mercedes Thompson book, Iron Kissed.
- You can win a copy of Jacqueline Carey‘s Kushiel’s Justice over at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist.
- Kate Elliott has posted links to a couple of reviews of her latest novel, Shadow Gate.
- Jo Graham has posted a short background story that fans of her debut novel Black Ships might be interested in reading.
- Laurell K Hamilton fans take note: SFX Magazine’s New York editor has set up an online community for vamp fans and is looking to recruit new blood…
- J.V. Jones answers a reader’s email question: “how many books will there be in the Sword of Shadows series?
- Ken MacLeod‘s The Night Sessions was rather favourably reviewed by James at BigDumbObject.co.uk, who concludes: “Serious, intelligent and highly enjoyable Science Fiction.”
- Stephenie Meyer fans might like to try their hand at some Twilight trivia questions.
- Lilith Saintcrow reveals that the secret to being a writer is… there is no secret, just a lot of hard work, professionalism and determination to succeed.
- Charles Stross has posted his Worldcon schedule for the weekend.
As ever and always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)
P.S. A quick note on last week’s links round-up. I’m pretty sure I posted it at lunchtime on Friday, but at some point during the week it seems to have been relegated back to the bench and reverted to draft status. I’ve dug it out of the ‘pending’ file and reinstated it to its proper place, which would be here, in case you missed it… DT
Press Release – Orbit US
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Scoundrels! Grave-robbers! Spinsters! Heiresses! Hot on the heels of its decision to double the size of its list in the US, Orbit welcomes four new stars of fantasy fiction.
Orbit is pleased to announce the upcoming releases of four new books from four new stars of fantasy fiction: BEST SERVED COLD by Joe Abercrombie (June 2009); THE SAD TALE OF THE BROTHERS GROSSBART by Jesse Bullington (Sept. 2009); SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (Nov. 2009); and THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS by N.K. Jemisin (Sept. 2009). (more…)
Your August TBR pile from Orbit US
Orbit Links for August 01 2008
Welcome once more, gentle reader, to our regular Friday links round-up. We have another choice selection of Orbit authors’ online activities for you to peruse this week:
- The Biology in Science Fiction blog has picked up and commented on one of the questions from the recent Iain [M] Banks Email Q&A and IO9 highlights the post in turn, sparking a lively discussion in the comments thread.
- Over at The Book Swede’s blog you currently have a chance to win one of two copies of Celia Friedman‘s Feast of Souls.
- Charlie Huston has posted the third part of his ‘Book of All Future Names’ flash-fiction project: Storie Latier.
- The third episode of the Reality Break podcast presents a 1994 radio interview with Robert Jordan. [via Neth Space]
- Glenda Larke posts a few sobering thoughts for would-be authors (well worth reading if you’ve ever considered giving up the day-job to write full-time…)
- Marianne de Pierres has posted the link to an interview with The Falcata Times.
- Over at OF Blog the Fallen, Larry has posted a translation of a Fantasymundo.com interview with Andrzej Sapkowski: Part One, Part Two.
- Charles Stross is planning on doing his bit for gender balance in genre fiction by promising to apply Bechdel’s Law to his future writing projects.
- And Charles Stross fans might enjoy this lego diorama of a starship bridge from Singularity Sky. [grokked from the FPI blog]
As always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)
All Orc, No Play!
The Orcs are coming! And to help introduce them we’ve created an Orc Mail website and Orc widgets.
And… if you’re one of the first ten people to post an Orc widget to your website or myspace page, and you email us the link at orbit@hbgusa.com, we’ll send you a finished copy of the book when it’s available in September! (US residents only!)
What I Learned at Comicon
- A new usage for the word “harpooning” (Thanks Lilith!)
- Big frakkin’ bags are a big frakkin’ hit.
- No matter how innocent the intent, grown men with giant Curious George dolls should not offer free hugs on Kid’s Day. (Ew dude, seriously).
- Everybody is duly excited about The Watchmen and Twilight (I know, right?)
- The Orcs Are Coming!
- 140,000 people is a whole lot of eyeballs, but so are roughly 800 exhibitors – if your marketing isn’t focused, those eyes will glaze right over it (thankfully, we had Orcs).
- You would be amazed by the number of 5 dollar action figures you do not want that are out there.
- The coolest stuff was tucked away in the small press and artist alley.
- The first person to start selling baby onesies at Comicon will make a fortune. (Seriously, I spent a day looking for something for my son and couldn’t find anything smaller than a toddler size, and I was not alone).
- Lamest costume: All those Dark Knight Jokers with un-smeared makup (the smeared makeup was the whole point guys!)
- Coolest costume: the little girl in the pink dress, pink shirt, and pink Vader helmet – you rule!
All in all, we had a great time at the show. Lilith Saintcrow rocked the Eye on the Present panel, which should be online eventually. We had a limited giveaway of Orcs galleys which were snatched up by fans in minutes. Kevin J. Anderson chatted with us about The Ashes of Worlds (vid to come) And our friends at Yen Press threw a great rooftop party complete with fireworks.